The short and sweet hike to Lava Lake is a Classic around Bozeman. It’s just a little ways down Gallatin Canyon and for it’s modest 3 miles length it provides great mountain vistas. Plus it’s a lake, so fishing and swimming are options, which people always like. I hear in the right water level there is cliff jumping too, although I didn’t really see it. However, in the six years I’ve lived in Bozeman I had never hiked up to Lava Lake! This summer I fixed that. It’s a nice short (3 miles in) hike on good trail, the lake is bitchin, and if you hit it right the raspberries and thimbleberries are a delicious bonus.